Movie Review: American History X

I feel like I’ve thought about race every day for the past year. Everyday there’s a little something which puts it on the radar screen. Maybe the racist joke by a friend which is hilarious but wrong. Maybe the not-so-subtle discrimination from which I benefit. Maybe the affirmative action from which I hurt. Or maybe it’s movies like Crash, or American History X which I saw tonight.

After I posted about Crash a few weeks ago a friend recommended American History X. I only watch movies if it comes highly recommended (but it doesn’t matter how much you recommend a TV show – I will never watch TV live). American History X shook me up like Crash did. This time it showed the extreme side of racism: neo-Nazis and how one man’s prison time changed his outlook. What I liked about Crash was that you left feeling like the problem exists on a very everyday level, on the corner of any street. American History X lets the viewer feel like it’s a problem that only exists on the fringes, but it is instructive and moving nonetheless.

One Response to Movie Review: American History X

Given our previous basketball discussions, I’m surprised you didn’t mention the most unbelievable part about the movie: The fact that it asks us to believe that Edward Norton’s character could dunk a basketball.

It already requires a considerable suspension of disbelief to swallow a bunch of neo-Nazis beating a team of black ballers in a pickup game. To then show Norton (who must be 5’7″ at most) dunking to end the game beggars belief.

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